The Arc is Defiled - RPLOG
From Rusted Promises
Participants
Date
3/9/475
Log
Sally has gathered soulless at the city gates, "If you aren't prepared for two day's hiking, go shopping now, because there will be no stores between here and there and back again," she advises.
Peril arrived promptly at the arranged time, shuffling through the city gates with a rather sizeable pack over her shoulder, Still having a lot of the camping gear from her last little venture into treasure hunting all she had needed was a few days rations to be ready to go again. With a soft sigh she shifts uncomfortable from foot to food, adjusting the weight on the straps that held the pack against her back while looking about the others that had gathered.
Darquan is more than ready for the trip. He's actually gone out and purchased a week's worth of supplies for those 'just in case' moments. Food, drink, medicines... For the present time, the gator is not using his combat soul, which is obvious since he is not in any form of armor. Just that kilt of his.
Sally appears ready for a long haul, with a heavy duty backpack slung on, burdened with, one assumes, supplies and sundry. She also has some travel sandals on her usually bare feet, designed to protect padded feet from sharp rocks and other things that could get quite painful without a nice extra inch of leather.
Rogna laughs and shakes his head. "I have all I will need." he says and gestures to a small ration at his side. "One must learn to survive in times of trial without being able to stuff their face." he says, knowing that he could probably find something edible on the way if it was that much of a problem. His hand on his sword hilt, he looks eager to proceed.
Kilsa arrives on time, Her pack is neat and square on her back. She is dress in nothing but a light bit of armor and her hammer is slung over her shoulder as she notices Peril and Darquan. "Hello." She is curt and her eyes seem to be a little bleary but her eyes seem a bit red.
Peril gives Kilsa a warm smile and the big gator a wink followed by a chuckle before beginning to make her way toward him, hoping to be able to pawn of a little bit of her heavier gear on the massive creature and spare her own shoulders the weight
With everyone prepared, Sally gives the brief, "As you may or may not be aware, The Arc landed not that far from here. Sweetwater is as great as it is, in small part, because this is one of the first places we tamed on the planet." she explains, starting to lead the way out of the city, "Most of the Creator artifacts were taken from it, maybe all of it, but I want a look for myself."
Darquan might very well act as the group's pack mule if the Hippo is not going to offer to do such a thing. Then again, to ask such would not likely go well. He returns the curt greeting with a smile and a greeting of his own. The Heavy-clan Gator shoulders the packs that Peril wants to relinquish, which shouldn't be much given her petit frame to begin with. That done he follows behind Sally while remarking, "So we are going to explore the craft that brought our ancestors here?"
Kilsa nods to Peril. She rolls her neck popping her bones before giving her hammer a few test swings. "Anything in particular your hoping to find?" She says curiously. "I wouldn't mind looking at things made by the Creators, as a low level memeber of the church I've never got a chance to look at anything related to them up close."
Sally cants her head, "My interest lies in the sacred families. I'm hoping to fine formulas related to them, and how they can... do what they do. But anything we find that can be used against the shadow will make the trip worth it," she assures. The trip is peaceful enough up to the foothills, where things start getting far more steep, ascending up into the dragonback mountains. Curiously, the path is not unknown, with small markers and shrines along the way.
Rogna works to keep in the middle of the group, his weight and size working against him as the mountain climbs upward. He's certainly glad he packed light. A thought occurs to him. "Do you think, the creators knew of the shadow?"
Peril happily trots alongside the gator, sticking close to the massive reptile. The small feline kept pace with the group easy enough though soon began to tire as she hurried to stay close, reluctant to fall behind on her own while trekking through the countryside. She grumbled bitterly at the steep assent though mostly kept her complaints to herself until the hippo spoke of the shadow "Who knows. Maybe the shadow did them in. They were both powerful after all."
Kilsa looks at Rogna as she walks at a brisk pace having no trouble with the traveling. "Probably, I just hope the shadows aren't the reasons that we don't see them." She ponders the thought for a moment, "I would love if we found something that could wipe them all out in a single use but thats hoping for way to much. If the shadows did the in then that would makes things a little more grim."
Darquan has no trouble trudging through the countryside, even with the additional weight...though very minor...of Peril's belongings. His stride is long, measured, and very easy. One could say it almost resembles how a wolf would lope on a long trek. His tail sways with each step as well, mesmerizing in its own right. At least he has made a modified kilt so his rump isn't showing as blatantly as before... He slows a bit when they reach the slope upward, looking back frequently to check up on the progress of the others.
Sally guides up along the trails, "I'm told some priests still make the trek up here, coming from far away nations for a peek at one of the larger pieces of Creator artifacts we have, though it's still not much... Don't know what the Creators know, but I do know their grasp of the divine numbers blows our little playing out of the water."
Kilsa chuckles, "I'm not familiar with the path myself, I might be a priestess but that is as far as my training goes." She smiles and look around, "Though I would mind accompanying a more experienced priest along this road. Its very relaxing and beautiful, I might have to look more into it." She makes a mental note of this path.
Peril shrugged her shoulders and sighed, arms folding across her chest as she looked to sally "This thing has been about for centuries. Anything that is left cant be valuable or either priests or looters would have made off with it long ago. Any inscriptions or writings will have been studied by priests and any evidence of the crafter's will will have been a subject for debate by every great priest there has ever been. It seems like little more than a publicity stunt to come out here."
Rogna feels his priests soul gem and shakes his head. Ironic that even though he tries to ignore portions of the knowledge bestowed by it he is doing something a priest would do anyways. He grasps his sword in confidence and pushes onward. "Why has the path not been developed upon? For a two day trek one would expect a small shelter to be placed if it is visited semi-regularly by priests. That seems rather inefficient."
Sally raises a finger, "Not so. Before, we did not have lunar dust, which seems to react very well when placed in the sacred patterns," She draws out a pouch of precious lunar dust, shaking lightly, "So we may be the first to activate something everyone else just copied into notebooks and took home." She glances towards Rogna, a shrug is offered, "Maybe closer to the top?" she suggests as they ascend the mountain.
Darquan remarks simply, "Perhaps it is part of the reason for the journey? There must be some danger involved or there would have been a city here long ago. Animals? Enhanced defenses? Traps?"
